Michael Jackson Replaced By AI For Jackson Family Performances

You didn’t think a little inconvenience like death would prevent Michael Jackson’s brothers from realizing their longtime dream of reuniting the old family band for a couple of live performances, did you? (And why should Glee earn all the cash?) Jackson’s brothers have tapped Japanese-American pop/R&B star AI to stand in for Michael at a pair of “tribute” performances in Tokyo next year — and, perhaps, to record new music with the Jackson brothers as well. Just so long as they don’t do anything “disrespectful”, right? Details below.

According to UK newspaper The Guardian, the performances scheduled for Oct. 14-15 of 2011 could (if successful) be spun into a world tour. Then again, the whole idea of these concerts should be taken with a grain of salt, considering that Jackson’s brothers — Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Jackie — have previously announced “reunion”-style shows that never came to be, including one for June of this year.

For the moment, the question is — is AI remotely qualified to fill in for the King Of Pop? She’s a wildly popular 29-year-old artist whose most recent album features performances with Snoop Dogg and K’Naan. She told CNNgo that: “I feel like all of this happened because I liked Michael… He never knew me but maybe he felt me and thought ‘somebody really loved me’. I feel like it all happened for a reason.”